As Ukrainian civilians begin to feel the bite of their fourth winter under siege, speakers in the Security Council today stressed that ongoing negotiations must yield results and that the organ must play its part to alleviate the suffering.
"Despite cautious optimism around resumed diplomatic efforts, 2025 has been one of the deadliest for the people of Ukraine," reported Kayoko Gotoh, Director for Europe and Central Asia and Officer-in-Charge for Europe, Central Asia and the Americas in the Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations. To illustrate, she noted that civilian casualties between January and November 2025 were 24 per cent higher compared to the same period in 2024. Further, she detailed the Russian Federation's escalating aerial attacks targeting energy and transport infrastructure across Ukraine as temperatures drop.
She also spotlighted several incidents that "represent yet another step in the current dangerous cycle of escalation", including repeated alleged violations of the airspace of several European countries, recent reported incidents involving shipping and port infrastructure in the Black Sea and ongoing attacks in the vicinity of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.
She reported that, since the start of the Russian Federation's full-scale invasion in February 2022, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has verified that 14,775 Ukrainian civilians, including 755 children, have been killed; 39,322 more, including 2,416 children, have been injured. "Actual figures are likely significantly higher," she said. Expressing hope that ongoing diplomatic efforts led by the United States can help bring this war to a negotiated end, she urged all stakeholders to actively pursue a just, lasting and comprehensive peace.
Safeguarding Humanitarian Effort Key to Protecting Over 10 Million People
"The people of Ukraine do not have the privilege of waiting for better conditions," observed Joyce Msuya, Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, as she stressed that they are enduring their fourth winter of war "under fire and in the dark". From the Council, she said, they need action to safeguard the humanitarian effort that "stands between survival and catastrophe". She added: "Your actions in the coming weeks will influence whether this winter becomes another chapter of avoidable suffering, or a moment when the Council helped prevent it."
Council members, then, should use their influence to ensure three things, she said: that the rules of war are upheld, that humanitarian aid reaches people in need and that humanitarian operations receive the funding required. While humanitarians are responding to acute needs as winter magnifies the impacts of attacks on energy and health infrastructure, she said that funding gaps are increasingly forcing cuts. With 10.8 million people projected to need aid in 2026, underfunding will leave tens of thousands without life-saving support, she said.
Minefields in the Sky Causing 'Grim New Chapter' in Mine Injuries
Tomaž Lovrenčič, Director of non-profit organization ITF Enhancing Human Security, then emphasized how landmines and explosive drones are creating "minefields in the sky" that leave civilians with long-term, life-altering injuries. For his part, he also urged the Council and the wider international community to prioritize three actions: scale-up humanitarian demining, treat victim assistance and prosthetic support as a "core pillar, not an afterthought" and insist that deliberate attacks on civilians must stop.
Otherwise, Ukraine risks becoming a "tragic template for future conflicts", he underscored. He also recounted a recent visit to Ukraine, during which he met with survivors who suffered profound physical and psychological trauma. Stressing that drone-delivered explosives cause injuries often harder to treat than those inflicted by traditional mines, he stated: "What I witnessed in Ukraine marks a grim new chapter in the evolution of mine injuries."
Recounting her own visit to Ukraine in November was Tanja Fajon, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign and European Affairs of Slovenia, Council President for December. Speaking in her national capacity, she recalled: "I witnessed a generation of young people whose lives will be forever marked by this invasion." The Council cannot "allow the value of human lives to decrease with each anniversary", and she underscored: "This war needs to end."
Top Priority Must Be Ending War, Giving Ukraine 'Final Word' on Its Future
For her part, the representative of the United States said that making that happen "remains a top priority" for her country's President. The United States is working to "try and bridge the divide between Moscow and Kyiv", as well as to move the parties towards ceasefire, she said, adding: "Both sides will need to make difficult choices to end the war." She said that her country's goal is "an end to the war and a mutually agreed peace deal that leaves Ukraine sovereign and independent and with an opportunity for real prosperity".
Yet, the representative of Greece stressed that "Ukraine must have the final word for its future, equipped with credible security guarantees". Denmark's representative agreed - "nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine" - and also underscored the need to involve the region: "When European security is on the table, Europe has to be at the table."
The representative of the United Kingdom, meanwhile, pointed out that Moscow has killed over 1,850 Ukrainian civilians since rejecting Ukraine's offer of an immediate and unconditional ceasefire on 11 March. He asked: "How many more civilians have to die before Russia accepts the ceasefire?" France's representative noted that Moscow is "pushing against the front lines to annex more Ukrainian territory" despite increased diplomacy by the United States, Ukraine and Europe.
Ukraine's 'European Backers' Manoeuvring for War with Russian Federation
However, the representative of the Russian Federation - stating that Ukrainian men are being sent to a "pointless, fratricidal meat grinder" while a "fairly realistic proposal for long-term lasting settlement of the Ukrainian conflict" is on the table - asked what Ukraine's European sponsors are trying to achieve. Stressing that Ukraine's "European backers" are concerned neither about the country's fate nor its dignity, he said: "What London, Paris and Berlin seek is to win time to prepare for war with Russia."
He then asked whether the European populace is ready to believe these "Russophobic scary stories" and to "walk down this suicidal path, which has led Europe to ruin at least thrice in the last 200 years". Military conflict between the Russian Federation and Europe - which the latter is "doggedly" pursuing - is unlikely to be a localized conflict, he said. Adding that "Washington now fully understands this", he expressed gratitude to his colleagues from the United States as they try to "make overexcited European brains get their heads around this obvious truth".
Security Council Must Not Wait for Miracles to Act
Ukraine's representative, noting his previous invocation of Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot, recalled that he implored the organ "not to wait for manna from heaven, for miracles, for better circumstances, for someone else to act". Instead, the Council must adopt a resolution mandating an immediate, comprehensive ceasefire. Then, rather than detailing casualty numbers - often reduced to "desolate arithmetic", noted without consequence - he asked why Moscow can continue its brutal war.
"Russia earns all the money to fund its war by exporting its energy resources," he answered, pointing out that - due to the absence of UN sanctions - several importing States provide Moscow with the "financial oxygen that ignites the fire of war". He also underscored that, while his country is ready for peace, "our territory and our sovereignty are not for sale". And referencing another Beckett play - Endgame, which teaches that "final defeat comes when we accept absurdity as normal" - he urged those present to act "before history decides that this Council, too, has eventually reached its own endgame".
Civilians Are Not Collateral Damage, Call for Just, Lasting Peace
Many Council members also acknowledged this imperative. "Civilians are not collateral damage," declared Guyana's representative. A ceasefire, then, "cannot be postponed", stressed her counterpart from Panama. The representative of the Republic of Korea, concurring, observed: "Even if humanitarian conditions were to improve, such gains would be merely temporary without an end to the war." While similarly condemning attacks on civilian infrastructure, Sierra Leone's representative noted that opportunities exist for "good-faith negotiations".
On that, Pakistan's representative called on the parties to engage towards a "a mutually acceptable settlement". The representative of Algeria called for renewed engagement to achieve a just and lasting peace that also takes into consideration the parties' legitimate security concerns. China's representative agreed on that latter point, also underlining the need for all sides to address the conflict's root causes. Somalia's representative expressed support for all diplomatic efforts towards a resolution that restores peace, security and stability.
International Law Must Trump Brutality
However, weighing in from the region, the representative of Poland stressed that "peace will only be real if it's based on international law". He also stressed that, despite ongoing United States diplomacy, Moscow issues "vicious threats" to take its war further into Europe. Providing an example, the representatives of Romania and the Republic of Moldova pointed to new drone intrusions into their airspace on 25 November. If the Russian Federation's aggression is rewarded, it will signal that "brutality trumps norms and rules", warned Norway's representative, also speaking for Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Sweden.
"We cannot allow an aggressor State to attempt to change borders by force - not in Ukraine, not anywhere," stressed the representative of the European Union, speaking in its capacity as observer. The representative of Estonia, also speaking for Latvia and Lithuania, echoed a point made by others from his continent: "Nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine; nothing about Europe without Europe. These principles are still very much valid."
Complete Live Blog coverage of today's meeting can be found here .
